Orange Sky
by JaytouraTheFluffy
Summary: While China celebrates the supposed death of Lord Shen, foreigners from India arrive and stir the pot. What will happen to Gongmen City now?  CHAPTER 5 UP!
1. Chapter 1 Fire

**Copyright**: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, nor any of the original characters such as Lord Shen, the Furious Five, Po, etc. I'm also not making money off of this. I do however, own my OCs.

**Warning:** This story relies somewhat heavily on OCs. If you don't like, don't read.

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Gongmen city was celebrating. Fireworks filled the sky, along with the rising sun, commemorating the occasion. One might think, upon seeing the display of parading citizens and happy partying, that they were having some sort of traditional holiday filled with laughter and good spirit.

If the wandering eye should look closer though, it would notice the variety of destroyed buildings, the occasional unmoving form on the ground, and the wreckage in the harbor with small fires still going on the parts sticking above the surface. They were like disturbing funeral pyres, half-done and they reeked of destruction and death, just like the dead that floated around them.

The city was not experiencing a holiday; they were celebrating the death of their tormentor, Lord Shen.

Just hours earlier the peacock lord had been sailing out of the harbor at full throttle, leading his fleet of junk ships and ready to turn his army of cannons onto the rest of China to spread his reign of death and destruction.

But the dragon warrior had stopped him. A fat Panda, hand-chosen by the great Master Oogway, had been able to finally end the rain of fire brought by Shen's cannons. Even in the end, he'd tried to reason with the defeated peacock. But still, his words only angered the warlord and he'd attacked in a last itch effort to strike out at his enemy. He'd only ended up sealing his own doom, cutting the ropes that held the remains of his largest cannon, causing the large weapon to fall down on top of him and crushing him.

But Po, the dragon warrior, had made it out alive. And he was celebrating with the rest of the city while helping some of those affected during the initial crisis. The collapse of the city's palace had caused more than a few displaced families, costing some of them even their lives.

As he worked with the furious five to clean up the immediate mess, Master Croc ran around the corner. The Master, although bulky and not at all made for land, was doing a pretty good job of running now. He was panting by the time he reached the group of warriors, and he had to take a breathing moment to catch his breath.

"…Dragon Warrior…" He huffed.

"Er, what is it Master?" Po asked, curious as to what the big rush was.

Looking directly at the panda, the crocodile's eyes were full of determined worry. "One of our scouts spotted a sail with a very… _familiar _insignia on the horizon. We've confirmed it's presence, but we can't _properly_ make out the marks yet. But they do appear to very closely resemble Lord Shen's."

Po's jaw dropped. "But it can't be! Didn't he just, y'know, get squashed?"

"We all saw it. Yet the ship we see is so far out to sea, it couldn't have possibly been part of the battle just last night. It's also coming our way."

Master Tigress spoke up next. "Well, looks like we'll have to go wait out in the harbor for this unknown ship, just to be safe." As the surrounding group agreed and started to make way for the harbor yet again, a commotion came up from the crowd ahead of them.

"What is it now?" Shouted Po over the roar of the crowd.

Master Storming Ox answered from the midst of the mass. "Dragon Warrior! It's a messenger!"

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The ocean's blue was often calming. One who could take the time to appreciate the wonder of the great expanse of water could indeed, watch it for hours. The hue changed restlessly and often playfully, given the right conditions. It could bring peace of mind, or open the gateway to freedom.

At least, that was what Captain Mu thought of the ocean.

But today, the sun rose and cast its rays along dull clouds that gathered in the distance. The red tint reflected into the ocean waters, coloring them red. Any self-respecting sailor would know full well that this meant trouble in the upcoming day, perhaps even days. Know one knew how long a storm could last.

For someone like Mu, who held very mixed emotions about storms, the upcoming threat was enough to stir life into him. On one side of the coin, storms meant destruction and hardship, the change into the season where the sea was rough and hard to travel on. But on the other side, he could find them fun and exhilarating. A storm was a true adventure, in which a ship and her captain were tested for their worthiness. A challenge meant to be conquered. However, a particular storm was always one or the other, never both. How did Mu decide which one?

He had absolutely no clue. He just woke up one morning, and if there were signs of a storm on the horizon, it usually depended upon the side of the bed he'd woken up on. Bad or good, it affected the lives of _everyone_ on board.

Today Mu had the unsettling feeling that this would not be a fun storm. So-saying, he turned to his first mate and called "Full-sail! We have a strong tailwind, and I want to get to our destination before the storm gets us!"

His first mate, a bulky Krait snake by the name of Mal, nodded in mirrored concern for the problem at hand. "Aye, Captain. I'll get the rest t'work on it."

And so it was done. The other inhabitants of the ship scrambled to their positions, creating a well-oiled mechanism; Mu had ensured all of them knew what they were doing long along. They were all well trained, and all sworn to him, their Captain.

Soon they were sailing full-throttle towards their target landing. Mu stood at the bow of the ship and squinted, trying to see if he could spot land. Frustrated, he brought out his spyglass and looked through it. Still nothing but Open Ocean. Giving in, he alighted to the uppermost point of the mast, where the wood formed a cross. _Who needs a crow's nest when you're a bird?_ Looking through his spyglass again, Mu was able to see the dim form of land in the distance, and what looked like buildings, perhaps. Then they were almost there.

Keeping his position on top of the mast, Mu called down to his crew. "We're almost there! Ready the supplies and keep on course!" Satisfied, Mu settled himself into the corner of the crosspiece. It felt good to be home free. Months on the ocean, although free and exciting, was a very long time to be on the sea.

Mal slithered up next to him. "It'll be good to get into port and replenish our supplies, huh Captain?"

"Yes, and I believe the crew could use a good leg-stretching. I know I could."

"I thought you _loved _the ocean." The snaked joked.

"I do. But it's not practical to spend forever on it. Even I have my moments where a tree or two is a welcome sight."

Mu thought that his first mate was going to make fun of him, when the snake suddenly turned towards the direction they were sailing in. "What's that?"

Eyes widening, Mu squinted to make out what looked like a pillar of smoke in the distance. He brought out his spyglass once more and was shocked at what he saw through it.

The city was smoking. Parts of it appeared to be on fire, and small sparks of what he _assumed _to be fireworks – Mu hadn't really seen a lot of them – rose in the air. So was it a mishap with the explosives? Was the city under attack? Either way, he still had to go there.

His voice tense, Mu turned to his friend. "Send a messenger, perhaps Ju, to the city at once! Tell her to scout the city to make sure it is safe for us to land there, alert whoever's in charge that we mean no harm, and request permission to dock in their harbor." Mal nodded and was instantly away, to pass on the message to Ju, a quick and agile Seagull. The citizens, if they were under attack, could well expect him to be another sign of threat. That was all he needed. If they were going to arrest him, or attempt to sink him, upon arrival then he might as well just turn around and head back out to sea to ride out the storm.

Just then he saw a flash of white, and saw the small form of Ju setting out rapidly towards the glowing form of what he knew to be Gongmen City with his important message.

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**Read and Review!** :3

What do you think for my first chapter? I'm pretty darn proud of it myself, though I'm open to criticism. More chapters to come soon!

Plus, a cookie to whoever correctly guesses what type of animal Mu is, as I did not mention it this chapter!(Friends: if I've told you already, it does not count! X3)

~Ciao


	2. Chapter 2  Arrival

**Warning/Copyright: **Read first chapter.

**Notes: **Don't worry, Lord Shen will appear soon and this story WILL be from his point of view.

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"Hello," The small bird said, in a shrill voice that only a seagull could muster, "Where is the ruler of this city? I have an important message for them."

An awkward silence fell over the gathered citizens and masters. Well… no one _really _ruled Gongmen City, especially now that Shen was dead. But as acting members of the Masters Council, Croc and Ox stepped forward.

"Stewardship of Gongmen City belongs to us. I am Master Storming Ox, and this is Master Croc." Ox said gravely. "Please deliver the message."

"Well…" Ju was very unsure, but figuring that anyone who acted as a leader in this giant mess might be better than no leader, even if she didn't have their credentials, she decided to deliver the message anyway. "Alright. I bring a message from Captain Mu of the _Steadfast_. He has instructed me to inform you-" She gestured to the masters and the surrounding citizens with her wing "-That you may expect no harm from him or his crew, and he requests permission to dock in Gongmen harbor… provided the place is safe…"

"What business does he have here?" Ox asked carefully.

"Political dealings, although I'm not partial to specifics of the visit itself, we're emissaries from India."

There were astonished looks on most everyone's faces. India was a long way away, by sea or by foot, despite being their neighbor. The journey was not an easy one either way, and contact from the neighboring power was scarce.

Po spoke first. "What's India?"

"It's the reigning country to the east, surrounded by vast seas and high mountains, and the country itself is harsh." Ox answered.

"Oh."

"That's right." Ju replied. "So can we have permission to dock here or not? Captain Mu cannot wait all night. There is a storm coming."

Before Ox could answer, Croc pointed to the sail just barely visible on the skyline. "That's his ship there?"

"Right again."

"Alright. You have permission. Just tell this Captain Mu of yours to be careful when he comes into the harbor, it's not exactly safe right now for ships to be coming and going, what with all the-"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Mu's the most tip-top Captain in the Indian Ocean!" She replied in her shrill voice, making some of the bunny children cringe as their mothers hushed them. "He can sail through a little wreckage."

"Alright. Then…" They didn't really know what else to say, as the seagull was just sort of staring at them. To be honest, it was a little unnerving.

"Okay, bye! See you soon!" Ju called cheerfully, before flapping into the sky in a flurry of feathers and coasting off towards the Swift Silver.

Master Shifu stepped forward. "Looks like your expecting guests."

Storming Ox rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Oh jeez, I wonder what he wants."

"Do you know him?"

"Not at all. We haven't heard much from India since the last royal peafowl passed."

Shifu looked up at the master with a raised eyebrow. That was almost thirty years ago. "Then you have much work to do, and much to catch up on."

"Indeed we do." Agreed the ox with a grumble, dismissing the crowd. Not many went far though as they waited for the coming of the emissaries.

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Almost an hour later, the _Steadfast _was making its way into Gongmen Harbor. The trip there had been easy, what with the strong tailwind at their backs. It was the harbor itself that would be a challenge. Mu, despite all his glory as an experienced sailor, could see that this would be a pain in his tail feather.

_I SWEAR if my ship gets scratched…!_

All his lovely thoughts aside, Mu was surveying his surroundings with morbid horror. This place was a complete disaster. _How the heck did they manage to screw up __**this**__ badly? _As he navigated through the floating chunks of wood and pieces of… what looked like the hull of a ship, Mu noticed that pieces of metal were sticking up above the water. Some parts of the wreckage were even on fire.

Seriously, how HAD they managed this?

Never the less, he put the obvious despair of the quite disturbing scene to the back of his mind and concentrated hard on not hitting said scene. Ju flew above his position, a set of eyes to see where he could not from his current position at the wheel.

"Flaming pile of junk to starboard!" She squawked suddenly, almost startling Mu. He squinted and veered left. Despite the fact that her vocabulary seemed to be seriously limited, she got the job done. That's why she was a trusted member of his team.

"Ooh wait! There's a pointy-looking hunk of metal to our port side! Turn starboard again!" She yelled suddenly, causing him to instantly chance his direction again.

Rubbing a wing over his forehead, Mu signed and let his feathers lay flat again. This entire place was a minefield. As Ju called down directions, Mal waited coiled around the mast and watching the oncoming storm diligently. He hadn't said anything yet, so Mu figured they were well ahead of it.

Suddenly, Ju called down again "Captain! Stop! The dock is probably only a meter away!"

"_What?" _Mu almost screamed at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Ju! You should tell me _before_ we get that close-"

"Just kidding!" She snickered. "Golly Mu, you need to lighten up!" Indeed, almost every single one of the captain's feathers were sticking up in alarm and he flattened them in irritation. Several of his sailors chuckled around him. Obviously, the seagull's sentiment was shared. This only annoyed Mu more.

"Look! We are not in a situation for fun and games, Ju! Just give me accurate directions!"

"Alright, alright. Avoid that scary-looking mast to starboard."

As this continued for quite some time, Mu heard a rough voice chuckle behind him. "She's right, you know. You're way too stressed."

Rolling his eyes, Mu didn't justify that with an answer. "How far away is the storm, Mal?"

The snake grinned as he coiled around the wheel. "Far enough. We'll get to the wharf well before it gets to us."

At least that was one piece of good news.

When Ju finally called down that they were a respectable distance away from the docks to slow down, Mu eased up to the sides of the wooden walkway and there his ship rested. He gave orders to two of his men to jump over the side and secure the ship to the dock, while he ordered two others to lay down a ramp for means of exit.

Mu went down last, making sure all his men got off the ship and onto dry land. They all needed a little break from their constant voyage. As he descended to the platform below, he noticed that a considerable crowd had amassed at the wharf. They all were staring at his sail and pointing while urgently "whispering." Despite the fact that they made almost no effort to conceal their voices, Mu had trouble distinguishing pieces of conversation above the clamor. Although he did catch pieces that sounded like "It looks just like-" and "-they're very nearly the same!"

Oh, but when _Mu_ stepped onto the platform the crowd silenced as hundreds of eyes were suddenly on him. Feeling a bit awkward, he raised a wing in hello. But before he could utter a word some animals near the front flinched back instantly at his movement. He let his wing fall, but kept a smile neatly plastered on his face.

"Ahem, hello-" He began.

"Not another peacock!" A sheep woman shouted, gripping a ram's arm tightly.

And the crowd was in uproar. Several of them moved back protectively while others surged forward, seemingly angry. Mu's smile disappeared and he took an involuntary step backward. He knew how vicious crowds could be. What he didn't know is why the fact that he was a peacock mattered so much.

His crew formed a protective circle around him, but it was not needed for just then, a harsh and angry voice rose up; "Stop! What do you think you are doing? These are guests; they've done nothing wrong!"

The crowd grew still again and parted, and Mu laid eyes on the speaker. A small, rodent-like creature that he couldn't name stepped forward with dignity. More figures followed, some of their species he knew from paintings he'd seen or knew from experience, others so obscure he couldn't place at all. They all filed out next to the first small creature, and all held various emotions in their eyes. A tiger female, he knew, glared at him with feral suspicion. Another animal, one of large stature with black and white fur and resembled a bear, had a look of ill-concealed surprise on his face. Last of all, the small rodent-like one looked at him with an expression he couldn't read.

Then two large figures stepped forward out of the group, a crocodile and an ox, and both looked like they were wary. Mu wondered what this city's problem was. He spoke before they did.

"Well, thank you for that… sir." He spoke to the rodent, before going on "I am Captain Mu of the _Steadfast_, and I bring a message from the Emperor of India, meant for the rulers of Gongmen City. Could you take me to them?"

The ox spoke, surprising the captain. "Stewardship of Gongmen City belongs to the Master's Council, which as of now includes Master Croc and myself, Master Storming Ox. How... _nice_ to meet you." Mu thought ruefully that the last part was forced. But aside all that nonsense, he was shocked to learn that Gongmen City was in the hands of, well, someone other than he'd been expecting.

Honestly, he'd been expecting one of his royal kinsmen. He'd definitely have some questions to ask later.

Before he could ask, however, the dock shook as a rather large hunk of debris collided with it, accompanied by a horrible crunching sound. Mu blanched he realized it was partially on fire. If it was allowed to get of control, it could burn down the dock, his ship…

The crowd scattered as the group of animals who'd come to meet him ran for the drifting wreckage, determined to stop it. But Mu was faster. He flapped easily to the floating torch, slightly faster than the crane, which was fetching a bucket. It was a twisted, broken hunk of a deck with pieces of large, engraved metal stuck to it. Mu didn't hesitate as he landed on a chunk half-submerged and sodden, and then began splashing water onto the flames with his train. The others got their fast and he called his crew into action as well.

"Yeeeooowwwh!" The bear creature yelled and jumped back as he grabbed a hot piece of metal in an attempt to dislodge a large chunk of the flaming mass. Mu sighed and scooped more water onto it. Then the crane came, and dumped his small bucket of water onto the fire with little effort. In a puff of smoke, it went out.

Mu was panting, a little disconcerted by the situation. The city was in _this_ much disarray? He turned his eyes to the harbor then, and they widened. This was the first time he'd seen it from ground level. While navigating it he really hadn't had the chance to look at it more closely than as an obstacle. Now he saw it for what it really was.

And he knew. He knew why they'd stared at his sail with surprise, but not why with fear. The pieces of cloth clinging to the broken masts had the insignia of the Peafowl Clan printed on them, black and torn. Mu looked down to his feet and there was a smaller patch of cloth stuck to the hunk, with a smaller version of the design on it. He picked it up and looked to the others as they filed back onto the dock.

"What _happened_ here?"

They gazed at him ruefully before the tigress stepped forward.

"Lord Shen happened."

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Wooh! That was waaaay longer than my last chapter! 3 I had to rewrite it too.

Anyway…

**Reviews: **I would like to thank my 1 reviewer for reviewing by answering a question. An OC is an "original character" not part of the canon cast of the movie, book, etc that a particular fanfiction is based off of.

Basically, that means I made the character up 3

Thanks for asking questions! I like it when people do that, because that means they want to understand my story. :3 And thanks for the praise, I appreciate it so much. 3

Now, ENJOY THE CLIFFHANGER!


	3. Chapter 3  Bleeding

**Notes: **I'm not sure how this worked out.

**Warning: **As the title implies, there might be a little blood this time. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

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Chapter 3 - _Bleeding_

There was silence as Mu sat there, perhaps waiting for a better explanation. They were all staring at him as if they were awaiting some sort of outraged response. But Mu was confused and his expression was mostly blank.

Finally he broke the silence "Well, who the heck is Lord Shen?"

The surrounding citizens seemed stunned. Exasperated, he alighted back on the dock as the Tigress flattened her ears and the old rodent thing looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You… don't know?" He said slowly, as if unsure of his own words.

"Of course I don't know!" Mu snapped, growing irritated. "I'm from bloody India, you know… that _really far away_ place past the _very tall mountains_ and the sea? Now will someone please enlighten me on the whole situation?"

Most of the animals who had come forward seemed insulted, or at the very least uneasy at his outburst. Mu realized he'd probably gone a little too far and deflated, even as he saw Ju's sympathetic gaze from across the crowd. _Some emissary, picking fights with the locals already. Oh, the Emperor will be thrilled… _He mentally kicked himself at his tactlessness.

Deciding it was his turn to make things awkward, Po stepped forward. "Well, uh, how about we tell you in a better place, y'know? I mean, if it's alright with the masters…"

"Might as well." Grunted Ox. "Lets go have a meeting in the… jail." He hated saying the word. It was horrible what the old Fight Club had been turned into. Upon seeing Mu about to protest, he brought up a hoof. "Calm down. We use it as our base now that the palace is destroyed. And before you ask how you can trust us, we could very well ask the same thing about you. So are you coming or not?"

Mu squinted. This Ox had effectively shut down any argument he could have thrown at them before he'd uttered a word. Oh yes, the Emperor would be _so_ impressed. "Alright, I will come with you to your… base." Mu refused to refer to it for what it was, as if uttering it's name would bring about bad karma. He looked pointedly at Mal and Ju and nodded for them to come along. The rest of the crew stayed behind to tend the ship.

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They were almost at the jail when Mu finally learned all their names. Ju had been talking cheerily the entire way, even though Mu was trying very hard not let any of his nervous feelings show. The more perceptive individuals around him had however, noticed. They politely said nothing.

"So…" Mu began. "If you don't mind my asking, who are _you?_" He gestured to the furious five, Po, and Shifu. "I mean, you two said you were the stewards of the city, but who could the rest of you be?"

Shifu looked back at him mildly before anyone else could say anything. "That's hard to explain. Basically we're all Kung-Fu masters who came to the city in a time of great need."

Mu still looked lost so he continued. "My name is Master Shifu, and these are my students; Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Crane, Viper and Po." Each in turn bowed their head when their name was called, except for Po. He raised a large paw and waved when he heard his name. Mu blinked. "Well… hello."

"Hello." They all said curtly.

The peacock heard a cough from beside him and when he looked, he saw Mal looking pointedly at him. "Oh, right. This is Mal, and this is Ju. They're part of my crew." Both smiled in hello but were mostly met with frosty silence. However, everyone except for Tigress and the older masters did give a small smile in return.

Before anything else could be said they reached the jail and walked slowly inside, Croc and Ox reassuring Mu as he hesitated outside with Ju and Mal. Oh, he felt he would regret walking into this jail. But he walked inside steadily with his head held high, feigning confidence.

Once they were all in, Shifu looked around slowly before stopping on Mu. "Well… where should we begin?" He really didn't know where to start with this. Despite being a renowned Kung Fu Teacher, his story telling skills were limited.

Actually, it was Tigress who started the story. "To sum it up, Shen was a murderous peacock who was hell-bent on taking over China and destroying everyone in his path to get what he wanted."

Everyone just sort of stared at her. She stared back. "What?"

Mu's expression was sarcastic. "Well, that was… blunt. Now who will tell me the real version?"

"I will."

Everyone's eyes flicked to the direction the voice had come from. In the doorway stood the short and stocky form of a very old goat. Master Croc's jaw dropped.

"Soothsayer! You're alive!" Po was a bit startled by this outburst and thought shyly that he'd forgotten to mention the fact that she'd saved him. Oops.

"Of course I am. You didn't think after all this time I would just up and die?"

"But, but-!" He stammered. "You were Shen's captive! We thought he'd killed you!"

"Him? Kill me? Rubbish, dear. Now stop this babbling and let me tell the story the right way."

"Wait a minute!" Mu interjected. "Just who are you?"

"I'm the Soothsayer. Now please, quiet. I sense you need to hear this."

And so the Soothsayer launched into her story, not mentioning a lot of her most personal details with the deceased peacock, but telling of how he was the son of the late Lord and Lady of Gongmen City and of how he'd been banished for genocide. Then her story jumped thirty years later, to the present, when he'd killed Master Thundering Rhino with his new invention and taken control of the City. She summed up the series of ensuing battles with the masters, did tell of her release, and ended her story with how Shen and his literal rain of fire had ended, crushed by his own cannon. Then she stopped to observe Mu's facial features. All throughout the tale he'd remained quiet. Occasionally his feathers would rise in shock or anger, but other than that he had not made a sound.

Now his expression was very hard to read, but the Soothsayer thought she could detect sadness, anger and frustration among the many swirling emotions she saw. "That's it? All that happened last night?"

"Yes to both."

"...So… that's why we haven't heard from you in over thirty years." He stated, stunned by the news.

"Perhaps."

Mu turned to the masters. "…That's why all of the citizens reacted the way they did, when they saw my insignia and when they saw me. This… Shen has dishonored the Peafowl Clan."

"I don't know much about your Peafowl Clan, but I guess you could say yes. Shen is the one to blame. But there's not much point in getting angry. He's dead." Ox pointed out.

Mu sighed. "I do believe you are correct." He said tightly, looking away. Shifu looked up at him and his eyes widened.

"You're new to being an important political emissary, aren't you?"

Mu's crest flattened a little but his voice was soft when he spoke. "You could tell?"

The Soothsayer interrupted "Oh, don't worry. We all have to start somewhere. Even the greatest Kung Fu masters started out as bumbling students." Mu didn't feel any better.

"Ahem, speaking of starting somewhere… We should probably get on with what Mu is here for?" Ox offered, looking pointedly at the blue peacock.

"Oh, right." Mu mumbled, searching his robes for the scroll that had been sent with him. He finally found it and read it to the group. "By Royal Decree of Emperor Avinash, Captain Mu of the Steadfast is to travel to Gongmen City in the Country of China to discuss political ties and trade with the royals there." Mu had hardly finished reading the scroll when Ox jumped in.

"I thought we had a peace treaty with India? At least, that's what our Master had told us…"

Mu's smile was almost sad. "Yes, well. That's the official reason for this mission. The real reason is that the Emperor was growing seriously worried about what was going on with the slim-to-none contact we've had with you. He just came into power about five years ago, so he wasn't able to do anything about it until now."

"So he sent you to come check things out." Shifu said.

"Well, yes."

"Alright, well now that you know what happened, what do you want to do about it?" Croc asked.

"Well, I'll have to notify the Emperor. He'll probably also have to speak with the Emperor of China too. This city is, from what I've heard, a very important city that is on Chinese soil. But it was colonial Indian Peafowl who founded it and who ancestrally ruled it."

Ox's eyes widened "So in other words, you're saying-"

"That this is a huge political nightmare? Yes. Almost every peafowl of rank back in India will most certainly demand that a new _peacock_ ruler be placed at the head of this city. On the contrary, it'd probably be a bad idea to suddenly take an Indian individual and put them at the head of a Chinese City. Which is what the Chinese government will argue."

Po scratched his head. "I really don't understand how that would work…"

Mu grinned. "I barely do either. I leave that part to the Emperor."

A grow came from the corner of the room and Master Croc's teeth were bared. "Just what gives you Indians the right to barge in on our city? We already rule it! And technically you have _no_ right-"

Mu took a step closer to him and cut the crocodile off. "And how's that working out for you? The City is in ruins and you two have almost no experience. When I came here, this, this…" Mu struggled to remember his name.

"Master Shifu" Shifu provided.

"Master Shifu, took charge while you two just stood and stared like confused children! So if you ask me, you do need a little help with finding a new ruler. And there are many peafowl families, if they haven't all managed to die within the past thirty years that _are_ Chinese!"

Croc's mouth was effectively shut, at least for now. Ox stepped forward and help up a hoof before Mu could go on. "I think we've heard enough for tonight. We will consider what you said, and talk more tomorrow. Deal?"

The captain narrowed his eyes. "Deal."

"Alright. Bye for now, and have a safe trip back to your ship."

"Goodbye." And Mu walked out the door with Ju and Mal following swiftly behind him. Back inside, the masters were all having a heated debate on what they should do.

"…You need to work on your temper."

"I know that, Mal. Now please just drop it and follow me." Mu said, not all traces of anger gone from his tone yet.

Mal just sighed and followed. A sense of foreboding had begun to creep up his spine.

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Ju was back at the ship now, and Mal had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

Mu had returned to the ship, ordered Ju to help prepare dinner for the crew, then taken Mal and a very, very small skiff out into the harbor under the cover of night.

He was maneuvering them towards some of the biggest, and in Mal's opinion, the most dangerous looking wreckage in the entire place.

Mal tried again for the umpteenth time "Just where are we-"

"Mal, I told you. We're going to go have a look at that wreckage." Mu said, trying to ignore his friend.

"But _why?_"

Mu gave no answer. He really just wanted to see what he could find out here, as well as if it was dangerous and had any potential of harming anyone. Pulling the skiff up beside a truly giant hunk of floating debris, Mu climbed out carefully onto it.

"Mu-!"

"Stay here Mal, and make sure the boat doesn't float away. I'll have a look around."

Rolling his eyes, Mal elected not to answer, deciding to instead keep a lookout on the shoreline. If anyone spotted Mu snooping about the place, they'd have a fit.

So Mu carefully made his way over the wrecked corpse of the boat. A seaman, he could tell which parts used to be which, unless they were mangled beyond recognition. He saw parts of the deck, scratched and broken, with the snapped mast lying across it mournfully. A giant hunk of engraved metal stuck up precariously from the depths. Either it was so big that it was sticking up all the way from the bottom of the harbor, or it was floating and weighed _much_ less than it looked.

He paused in his inspection when, in the dim moonlight, a dull shine caught his eye. Looking closer he saw a knife deeply imbedded into a part of the ship. Mu couldn't tell what part of the ship this had been; it was far too broken. Gripping the blade, he yanked it out with far more effort than he expected would be needed.

After examining the weapon, he found that it was engraved in the likeness of a feather, and would have been very sharp had it not just spent the last day embedded in a hunk of wood. His scavenging nature taking over, Mu pocketed the blade and as he looked around, he saw more knives littering the debris. He picked them all up and stuffed them in a leather sack he kept under his robe.

_All right, Mu. You didn't come here to loot. _He told himself stubbornly. But then… what _was_ he looking for? He continued to scan the wreck, looking for whatever it was he told himself he was looking for, and grew far more immersed in his search.

So immersed was he, in fact, that he didn't realize the wood he was now stepping on wasn't the safest place to be walking.

As he placed his foot down, the wood underneath collapsed and his foot fell through a new hole in the ship. His foot and ankle connected with what felt like razor sharp metal.

"_Owww!" _Mu yelled, more in frustration than in pain.

"Mu! Are you alright?" Mal called from the other side of the wreck, having heard his friend's rather loud scream.

"Yes, quite fine." Mu ground out. "Just needlessly destroying _more_ of this wreck." _As if it needs help._

Mu didn't hear a reply, but Mal had sighed rather loudly. Instead, Mu focused on pulling his leg out of the hole he'd just made. He braced his useful foot under him and balanced on it, pulling the injured limb out of the narrow hole. As he brought it out, the shrapnel and wood scraped his leg up more.

When his foot was finally free, Mu inspected it. Oh, perfect! He was bleeding, and his leg from the knee down looked like he'd just been through a forest of thorns. And, to top it off, there was a rather large gash on the bottom of his foot.

Pulling a handkerchief out of his sleeve, Mu wrapped up his foot and was about to move on with his search when he looked down and saw a shiny glint through the hole. He knelt down and put his eye up to the hole, and through it he saw…

A very long looking metal spear type thing; Mu couldn't tell from what he could see. And next to it, floating half in the water and on the wreckage, was the still and broken form of an animal Mu couldn't identify from where he was standing.

Mu's curiosity got the better of him and he looked for a way to get at them. But going through the hole in the deck would be impossible, it was far too small and too rough around the edges. He looked through the hole again and thought he saw light coming from an opening farther down in the wreckage, beneath the water.

Decision made, Mu emptied himself of all heavy belongings- the knives, a bag of coins, his own personal weapon, and beaded necklace and left them on the deck next to a flat and sturdy-looking hunk of wood. Then he walked to the edge where he saw the light, and dived down into the water.

Swimming was a talent that peafowl did not excel in, Mu knew, but he'd learned at in early age because of his profession. A sailor who could not swim, Mu's old mentor had always said, was a very crappy sailor. That being said, Mu could swim passably well.

So he dived deeper into the water, searching for the hole in wreckage that he'd seen earlier. It seemed to be taking him quite awhile to find it, and Mu was beginning to grow worried that he wouldn't find it. But then he saw a twisted and torn metal cylinder, hollow inside and cutting a straight hole through the remains of the boat. From where it stuck out of the boat wreckage, he could see a hole inside.

Despite the fact that the hole was only slightly bigger than he was, and not at all safe to swim through- there were sharp pieces of wood and metal jutting out from the sides- Mu swam through it and swam upwards. As he broke the surface he took a gulp of air and clung to the side, panting as he closed his eyes; He'd held his breath for a long time.

When he finally opened his eyes, Mu saw the hole he'd made earlier, and he looked around the small hollow pool he'd swam into.

There was the metal spear he'd stepped on. From up close, he could now tell it was a long halberd, magnificent in design and dripping on one side in his blood. Mu squinted and looked beyond the weapon. There, lying broken on a piece of wood jutting from the side of the ship, was a dark form that Mu recognized. Not because he'd seen this individual before, but because he looked very much like him.

"Oh, my…" The creature was bleeding heavily from many wounds, and a few of his limbs lay in disturbing positions. Mu thought it was very creepy and disturbing that he'd just swamp up next to a corpse when he thought he saw it move.

Startled, his head flinched back and he bonked it on the side of the wood. "Ow… I need to be more careful." He mused to himself.

Swimming carefully up to the wood that the creature lay on, he saw that it hadn't actually moved. There was just a slight rise and fall in his chest. Mu raised a wing to check for a pulse, and felt a slow and faint one.

So he was alive then. And Mu suddenly felt very conflicted. If he left this creature here, he would undoubtedly die. And he would die soon, too. But if he took him with him… he'd be saving this creature, jeopardizing his mission, and who knows what other problems he'd be giving himself.

On the hole, it'd be far easier to leave him here to die.

But Mu, stubborn and deep down, a person who had promised himself not to be responsible for the death of anyone, just wouldn't do that.

So he carefully grabbed the limp form of the creature and, before he swam out, grabbed the halberd too, descended back down to the hole. It took some maneuvering to get through it with both of them, but he managed.

Mu climbed onto the deck and began hauling the other creature on his back, and collected his things, and began walking back towards the skiff.

"I'm an idiot. What am I doing… I have absolutely no self control and I like to my things harder for myself. _What was I thinking?_" Mu ranted at himself until Mal heard him coming.

"Mu? Is that you? I was beginning to wonder where you'd gotten off to!"

"…I also need to stop talking to myself." He mumbled under his breath, then called back "Mal! Get the skiff right up next to this wreck. I'm gonna need some help."

As Mal saw Mu appear from over some of the wreckage, with a bandaged foot and carrying a big, wounded, white creature on his back, his eyes widened.

"Mu, what have you done now?"

"I explored the wreck and… found a few things." Mu answered cryptically, moving towards the skiff.

"But just _who is that?_"

"I…I think it's Lord Shen."

Whoo! Not such a surprising ending there, but I'm happy with it.

I'm much more proud of the second half of this chapter than the first. The first seems… awkward to me :/

Also, this is probably the LONGEST chapter I've ever written.

And to answer your questions about why there were two stories… it was an accident. I kept the second one up because other people were watching it and I hadn't gotten around to telling them I was going to delete it yet. ._. sorry


	4. Chapter 4 Incense

**Warning: **May contain some slightly disturbing descriptions of injuries, and some mild language.

**Notes: ** I didn't plan on updating this early, but if you guys haven't noticed already my updating patterns are sort of sporadic. XP I actually finished this chapter the night I uploaded the last. 3 Go figure.

**And to explain a question that arose in my reviews**… I really didn't know I was making Mu sound British XD Except for maybe the mild pirate terms like "matey" and "argh!" type thing. Or using the sailor terms for the back and front of a ship.

But I see no problem if he does sound British to my readers. Tai Lung and Shen are both voiced by British actors… even though they both sound like old men. So thanks for the tip(because I was actually going to consider British Reference later on though.) But now I'll keep it closer to how it was.

Thanks again, my lovely reviewers!

IIIIIIIIIIIII

"_L-lord Shen?" _Mal stammered, unable to believe it.

"Yep." Mu answered quickly, placing his unconscious cargo into the skiff towards the side, so he would have room to row it.

"Are you _completely nuts?_"

"Maybe." Mu replied, beginning to row the boat back towards his ship.

"What do you mean '_maybe_?' Just what do you think your doing?" Mal demanded.

"Mal, I couldn't just leave him there to die. That would be wrong."

Mal rolled his eyes, well aware of his captain's conscience. "Look Mu. You didn't injure him or even do anything. You would have no cause to be guilty if you just left-"

"Oh, but I would be guilty, Mal. I can't just let someone die. Even this particular someone." Mu looked Mal straight in the eye and the snake sighed.

"You realize this is going to cause some serious problems for us, right?"

"I do. But even the Emperor wouldn't want me to leave him to die, no matter how horrible he is." Mu answered, turning his gaze back towards his ship and avoiding some driftwood.

"…Are we going to tell anyone?" Mal asked, just wondering how far this would go.

"Well… I don't think we should tell anyone outside of the crew. But my crew should know. I trust them, and they need to trust me. Besides, I'll need their help too."

"So we'll be lying to the Chinese?" The Krait's eyes narrowed.

"Not lying, just… avoiding the truth." Mu smirked. "We should both be good at that, all things considered."

"Jeez, Mu! You're going to get us all hanged!"

"Hey! I'm still your Captain. I wouldn't let anyone be hanged. I enjoy annoying you all too much to let that happen." Mu smirked.

"…Aye aye, Captain." Mal said flatly, blowing out the lantern he'd been holding. They'd really be in deep if anyone spotted them now.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Back at the ship, it wasn't really unusual that the crew would be keeping secrets from those on shore. However, it did create quite a stir that Mu had saved such a scoundrel.

"Lord Shen? I heard he's the guy who caused this hole catastrophe." One of them whistled. "Impressive."

"Did you see those weapons the Captain brought back with him? Must be a deadly foe…" Another admired.

"Quiet, all of you! We don't anyone to know that _our guest_ is here!" Mal hissed at them all. "Especially you, Ju. Your mouth is bigger than the eye of a hurricane."

"Well, I just like to have a good word, that's all! Never hurt anyone!" Ju said, feigning insult. Mal rolled his eyes before following Mu into his quarters and down a short flight of stairs, a secret compartment in the hull.

Given the ship's history, it wasn't all that surprising that the Captain had such things in his quarters.

Down in the hull, Mal pulled the floorboards back over their heads. Only the Captain and the First Mate knew that this little secret room was here. Mu had taken to calling the place "My Closet" as to not arouse suspicion from the crew. It was perfect, walled off from the rest of the hull and small enough so that, if someone were in the hull, the absence of space in the stern of the ship wouldn't be noticeable.

Down in the Closet were an array of maps pinned to the wall, a very small desk in one corner with an unlit lamp and an inkwell and no chair, a rolled up rug and blanket in one corner, and a flat chest that was, in reality, full of miscellaneous clothing items, old tools and other things Mu couldn't remember.

The Closet wasn't really used for keeping secret valuables anymore. Now it was just for secret discussion, usually with Mal, or storage. But Mu still kept it secret.

He stored the weapons in the long chest, then threw a sheet over it and lay Shen on top of it. "We should bandage his wounds. You're better at that than I, Mal."

Mal grunted, leaned over and inspected the peacock, flicking his tong and eyeing the deep bleeding gashes and broken limbs. Finally, he sat up and gave Mu his verdict.

"Sorry, he's dead."

"What? Mal, no he's not! Look, he's breathing!" Mu yelled.

"Well, he should be. His wounds are so serious, there's not much I can do aside bandaging them. He needs a real doctor, Mu." Mal said seriously, eyeing his friend.

"Well then, bandage his wounds and stop the bleeding for now. I'll go out and find a doctor who can keep their mouth shut."

Mu made to leave when Mal noticed he was limping. "Hey, are you hurt?"

"Just a scratch. It's nothing." Mu dismissed him and opened the door.

In a flash, Mal was standing in his way. "Nothing, eh? Then why is the handkerchief you used to tie the wound dripping?"

Mu looked down at his foot and cursed under his breath. His makeshift bandage was completely bled through, and there were red footprints on the floor behind him. He suddenly realized that the irritating pain he'd been pushing from his mind was a much sharper sensation coming from the wound. No wonder he was limping.

"Your losing too much blood. You are not walking nor flying all the way through Gongmen City looking for a doctor." Mal declared.

"Since when do I take orders from you?" Mu snapped.

"Since you went and hurt yourself saving that psychopath over there. Ju can go out and find someone." Mal answered.

"_Ju _has a beak bigger than the eye of a hurricane! You said so yourself!"

"But if you order her to, she'll only repeat what you tell her to. She's good that way, and you know it." Mal smirked, knowing he'd won. Mu squinted; irritated that he'd just lost an argument with the snake. "Alright, fine. Send her to find a doctor. But tell her to be quick!"

"I'll tell her. Now go sit down before you bleed out. I'll be back to tend your foot later." Mal smiled and slithered out, not looking back to see if Mu did or not. It didn't really matter; He'd won.

He quickly found Ju, who was sitting on the balustrade and preening, and gave her a rundown of what he needed. "Ju, we need you to fly into the city and find a doctor for _our guest _who-"

"Our guest? You mean Shen, the white peacock Mu just saved? Because I-"

"Yes, Ju! Now be quiet, and don't say his name _especially_ off of this ship! We don't want anyone to find out. You have direct orders from the Captain to not say anything about him to anyone in the city, or even imply. We need to find a doctor for our guest." Mal said slowly and clearly, but strongly enough so Ju couldn't cut him off.

"What about the Soothsayer?" Ju asked.

"The who?" Mal replied, confused.

"Don't you remember the old goat that told us the story of our guest? She seemed nice, and maybe she'd be a big help."

"And what makes you think that the Soothsayer, who seems to know the Masters Council quite well, would be able to keep our secret?" Mal asked carefully, not sure how many fruits short of a basket this bird was.

"I don't know. I just feel like she would. Something about the way she talked about… _him _makes me think that she would help us." Ju smiled, sure of herself.

"Okay, _fine_! But if anyone asks, just tell them you're looking for a doctor to help us with Mu. He injured his foot, so it won't be a complete lie. Then we can tell her everything when she gets here."

"Mu hurt himself? How terrible! I-" Ju began.

"Ju! Focus on the task at hand and just go! And hurry, our guest can't wait forever!" Mal snapped.

Ju was instantly up in the air, a flurry of feathers following her. "Yes sir! I'll be right back!"

As he saw her disappear into the early morning sky, Mal sighed to himself. _We're doomed._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

That night, the Masters council were discussing the news that had been heralded from India. The Furious five, Shifu and Po were there too. Along with the Soothsayer, who hadn't left.

"Well, what should we do?" Ox demanded. "We can't just let him but into our affairs!"

"Patience, Master Storming Ox. All will come to you with some time and peace." Shifu said.

"But Master, how can we even trust this peacock? We even knew Shen more than we know Captain Mu. He's completely unpredictable!" Tigress growled.

"But Captain Mu is not Shen. We must not assume that he is a threat just because he is a peafowl, like Shen was." Shifu answered with authority, hoping to put all thoughts of anger out of her head. She was still on edge from their battle with Shen.

"But-"

Just then, Ju crashed through one of the windows with a loud squawk and landed on the floor. All eyes were on her as she stood up and quickly started babbling.

"-"

"Whoa!" Po yelled, startling everyone. "I can't understand a thing your saying little bird. Slow down, and en-enun- speak clearly!"

Ju blushed. "Oh, sorry! Okay, I was wonderin' if any of you knew about first aid stuff?"

"Why?" Shifu raised an eyebrow.

"Welll…" Ju waited for suspense. "Captain Mu hurt himself!"

Despite their frosty opinion of Mu, who was a stranger, this still made them feel some worry. Concern even flashed in some of their eyes. Questions suddenly flew everywhere, about the safety of Mu, about the safety of the citizens, etcetera. But Ju held up a wing so suddenly that everyone stopped.

"Wait! There'll be none of that! It's nothin' serious! He just hurt his poor ol' foot."

There was silence as she grinned, pleased with herself, and the masters waited for further explanation. When none came, Crane was the one who prompted her. "Aaaand how did he come by this injury? How is he hurt?" Crane waved his wing in a rolling motion, hoping to get her to elaborate.

"I don't know. Mal just told me! Probably stepped right on a nail or kicked a wok or something of the sorts. But we're gettin' off track. We need a doctor type person. Who can do that kind of stuff?" She babbled, finally managing to get her question out.

"Well, I guess the Soothsayer is the most skilled in these types of things." Ox shrugged. "So she'll probably be your best bet. Soothsayer?"

The Soothsayer smiled at Ju. "I will go where I am needed. Will you give me some time to gather my things and then show me the way to your ship?"

"'Course, 'course!" Squawked Ju. "But Mal did tell me to tell you that this is urgent! Very urgent! We must hurry!"

"Alright. Come along, then." The Soothsayer walked away to gather some supplies that she would undoubtedly need for this mystery wound. Ju followed after her while the rest of the masters stared.

"She's a… very odd bird." Crane mulled.

"She's a very noisy bird, that's what she is." Mantis stated, hopping onto Monkey's shoulder.

Viper sighed. "I just hope Captain Mu is alright. Poor guy."

And so they went on discussing their thoughts on Captain Mu and how they should go about handling the situation he'd presented.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Back at the _Steadfast, _Mal had already finished bandaging Mu's wound and was coiling himself around the worst of Shen's wounds in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. He'd enlisted Mu to press ripped up pieces of an old shirt they'd found in the chest to other wounds.

"Where is Ju? I can't keep this up forever, and this guy's fading." Mal said irritatedly, although Mu could detect the worry in his voice. He was currently coiled around a large cut at the base of Shen's wing. The wing was also broken and bleeding.

"Can't you stop the bleeding?" Mu asked, pressing a cloth to a cut near the peacock's neck.

"If I coil any tighter, he might lose the wing. Besides, I don't think the blood loss is deadly at the moment."

_But he's already lost so much! _Mu thought worriedly. Had he really hauled this guy all the way here just so he could die?

Just then, Mu heard a clatter above as Ju arrived. She'd burst into his quarters to find him not there. Quickly he jumped to the floorboards and pushed them aside. "Ju! In here!"

"Oy, you're beneath the floor Captain!" She exclaimed.

"Yes yes! Now get down here. Did you bring a doctor?" Mu asked, ignoring her outburst.

"Oh yes! Even better, I brought the Soothsayer!"

"The Soothsayer? Who told you to get the Soothsayer?" Mu demanded.

"Um… that would be me." Mal supplied, smirking sheepishly.

"Ugh. You're all going to give me a heart attack one day, I swear." Mu growled.

"Never mind that. Ju, please get the Soothsayer down here. We need her." Mal hissed loudly.

"Ok! C'mon, miss!" Ju flapped awkwardly down the steps and the Soothsayer trailed after, more slowly. Her eyes were instantly on Mu and his foot, and she grabbed his wing and pulled it aside for a better look.

"Sit down dear. Now, what's wrong?" She asked.

Mu ripped his wing from her grasp. "Not me! Him!" And he gestured importantly at the limp form of the albino peacock.

The Soothsayer noticed him for the first time. In the small room, the large number of bodies inside had blocked her view, along with the snake sitting on top. But now that she came closer she realized who it was that really needed her help, and her eyes widened.

"Shen!"

"Yes, will you help him?" Mu asked, hurrying up beside her.

"Where did you find him? Why?"

"I found him in some of the wreckage. I was…"

"You were snooping?" The Soothsayer guessed, giving Mu a stern look. Her disapproval was obvious.

"Fine! I was snooping! Anyway, I found him. Now will you help?" Mu said. "He's not getting any better."

The Soothsayer gave him a strange, far away look before nodding and getting to work. She placed some herbs on the gash on his wing, which she shooed Mal away from, before bandaging it neatly and putting it in a sling around his neck. All of this took her about half an hour. Then she moved on to the next wound.

"So, you know who he is. Yet you want to save him. Why?"

"…Because it would have been wrong to just leave him there." Mu said flatly, staring hard at her.

"No." Mal disagreed, flicking his tail at Mu. "It's because simple here would have felt like a scumbag had he done the intelligent thing and left this royal scumbag here to die."

"Mal, I swear I-"

Interrupting the fight, the Soothsayer smacked her cane against the floor. "Shush, both of you! I need to concentrate to work. Mal, coil on this cut. I need to stop the bleeding while I work on this break. The rest of you get out. Or if you want to be useful, fetch me some water and more bandages, if you have any."

Surprised at the quiet, yet firm authority she held in her voice, Mu and Ju both walked out and got the supplies they needed.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Several hours later, the Soothsayer was finished. Mu and Ju, both practically incapable in the medical field, were permitted back inside the closet. Mu wondered why he was allowing this old goat to kick him out of his own closet. Then he decided it didn't matter and walked inside.

"So… what now?" Mu asked, seeing the very bandaged form of a peacock. At least, he was pretty sure there was a peacock under there.

"Change the bandages every few hours. He has a slight fever and a cough, so I left some incense to burn that will probably help. If he gets worse, send Ju for me. When he wakes up make sure he drinks a lot of water and eats. He'll be thirsty. I've instructed Mal on the proper care of the bandages." The Soothsayer said, and made to leave, her belongings already packed.

"Wait!" Mu said, blocking her path. "What next?"

"What do you mean 'what next?'" She squinted.

"Well… what should we do about _him _once he's better?" Mu asked, exasperated.

"I don't know. That's your problem now. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about him. Goodbye, Captain Mu." And with that, she left, brushing past Mu with a smirk on her face.

Mu was furious. Just what was he supposed to do with this guy? He'd hoped he could just dump him on the Soothsayer, or that she would help at least. What he didn't know was that, as she walked out, a knowing smirk was on her face. Oh, she definitely knew something they all didn't.

But what that something was, was for her to know and for them to find out themselves.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Woot! Another chapter down! This one's not as long as the last one though…

But I ended with the Soothsayer being all mystical and kung-fuey! :3

This was a good chapter, I think. I liked it. But what will happen to Shen?

Find out next time in another installment of Orange Sky(argh! the colors)!


	5. Chapter 5 Fury

**Notes:** CHAPTER FIVE WHOO~

**Warning: **Mild use of language. Seriously, it's super mild.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Chapter 5 - _Fury_

For the next three days, Mu, Ju and Mal took shifts in caring for the injured warlord.

Mal taught both of them the proper way to care for an injured person during this time. He was skilled with that, and what he wasn't skilled with the Soothsayer had explained to him.

"So when you change the bandages, make sure you cleanse them before applying any of the herbs or medicine. Don't let the wounds get dirty, or he'll get an infection." Mal instructed importantly, feeling rather proud now that he was teaching them something.

Mu, on his part, did his best to ignore how annoying Mal got during his "lectures" during this time. But thankfully, they were brief because even though Mu was a total dunce when it came to the medical field, he could follow and remember simple instruction.

Coincidentally, Ju was not. She remembered what Mal said, but she kept getting it mixed up. Once Mu had caught her cleaning the herbal remedies off of a wound after she'd applied them.

"Ju! You're doing it wrong." Mu had said, praising himself for his patience.

"But I thought that-" Ju began.

"No, no. Mal said to clean it _before_ the herbs, remember?"

"Oh."

Aside these little mishaps, Ju eventually learned too, which was a godsend. Mu had important meetings scheduled almost every day with the Masters, and he couldn't always leave Mal at the ship to care for Shen. They were trying to find a solution to the problem the city faced- it was leaderless. And although the crime rate was at a record low, trade and income of the city was beginning to decline. These Kung Fu Masters were no political geniuses.

And then there was the little thing Mu was there for. He was technically representing India on these debates, and his presence agitated some of the Masters. Although it was a necessary presence, for the Emperor would most certainly have something to say about this.

It was on the third day that they were having another heated debate.

"How would we choose a good leader? We don't want some power-hungry poser gaining control." Croc snapped.

"…Most noblemen these days _are _power hungry." Ox argued. "The ones who have already _so kindly _offered don't care about the city. They just want the title and all it's perks."

Mu watched, irritated as they bickered back and forth and he tried to interject several times, but it was hard to interrupt these… rather large masters with equally large mouths. Mal wasn't here this time to hiss at them to gain their attention.

Finally, he grew fed up and raised his voice. _"Silence!" _

The small crowd of Kung Fu masters grew silent. Although his voice was not anything powerful and deep, like Master Ox's, or quietly commanding like Shifu's, it still held weight when he was angry.

"You all sit here and argue while time, money and opportunities are lost. You all constantly try and decide the best course of action while the answer is right in front of your faces!" Mu's voice was hard with ill-concealed frustration.

Croc eyed him very carefully before speaking. "…And what would this answer be, Captain Mu?"

"Of course, we get an opinion from the Emperor of India! We need the involvement of someone who actually knows what their doing to set things straight." Mu snapped.

Master Ox stomped over to Mu and shoved his face into the peafowl's. "Look, _Captain Mu, _we don't need any of your foreign help! We could just as easily get our own Emperor Involved!"

"I've said before that we'd need both of their consent! But _our _Emperor has valuable information. We have sources that China does no-" Mu started.

"Our Emperor is just as smart and powerful as yours! Don't think for a second that we can't manage without you!" Ox snarled.

"Both of you, settle down. You're acting like children!" Shifu spoke up over the clamor. "Fighting is not a way to find a solution to our problem."

"…Yes, Master." Ox said sagely and bowed.

Having no inclination towards the Kung Fu traditions or protocol, Mu just replied "Fine."

"Now that that's over, lets get on with it. Master Storming Ox, the Captain does have a point about help in our time of need being invaluable. And aside that, our Emperor would be extremely hard-pressed to get interested on the matter altogether." Shifu explained.

Ox's eyes widened. "Well, I've heard he's busy, but isn't this urgent?"

Shifu's look was troubled. "Yes. But the Emperor never leaves the Imperial City and arranging an appointment with him is next to impossible. It could take months."

Ox wasn't all that surprised, but Mu was taken aback. "..He never leaves the city? How does he know how the country's getting on?"

"Well, he has his sources everywhere. But mostly he just leaves us to our own devices as long as we don't rebel." Shifu explained, realizing with each passing word that this was not exactly something to brag about.

Mu bit his tongue, stopping himself from making a comment about their system. He needed to reason with them now, not start another argument. "Well… all the more reason to get an opinion from our Emperor. If he sends a message to your Emperor, maybe we can get this worked out."

"…That could still take months, considering the time it would even take to contact the Emperor of India in the first place." Shifu warned.

"Then what would you suggest?" Mu challenged.

Shifu furrowed his brows tightly for a long moment, before finally answering.

"…Alright. Let us send a message to this Emperor of yours. Make sure it's detailed about everything we've discussed, or we'll accomplish nothing. As long as that's alright with Masters Storming Croc and Ox, of course."

Croc glanced at Ox, but he was staring hard at the floor. Finally, he looked up and met Mu's gaze.

"Fine. You get your way. But this is still _our _country. Remember, you have no power here." Ox grunted, before dismissing Mu. The peacock didn't miss hostile glances from the majority of the masters before he left.

But still, a victory was a victory. As soon as Mu left the building his face turned annoyed and he climbed to the top of a nearby Inn. From there, he leapt into the sky and glided his way back to the harbor. He had to get there as soon as possible.

Once he was back at his ship, he summoned Ju. "Ju, I have a message for you to take back to the Emperor." He led her into his quarters and began writing it.

"The Emperor of India? Isn't he really far away? Past the deserts and forests and oceans and mountains and-"

"Ju, enough of your nonsense. This is important." Mu replied, blowing on the scroll he'd just finished writing on to dry. "Take this message to him, don't let anyone steal it, and make sure you get there as fast as you can."

Ju nodded. "'Aight, Captain." Ju alighted on the desk and stuck out her leg for him to tie the scroll to. Once that was done, she zoomed to the door, but then stopped.

"…Do you want me to come back once I deliver it?" She asked.

Mu fought hard not to loose his temper. "Yes, Ju." He ground, every ounce of him working to keep his tone level "Unless the Emperor has some reason to keep you there, please come back."

"Oh. All right! See you soon, Captain Mu! Farewell!" And she zoomed out the window, bound for India.

Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he could have some peace…

"Think she'll get lost this time?" A voice sounded behind him.

Startled, the peacock whipped around so suddenly that his train knocked over a chair. Sitting there near the entrance to the Closet was Mal.

"_Mal!_" Mu yelled, glaring at the snake. "What the _heck_?

"Oops, sorry." The snake snickered. "Didn't mean to startle you, sir."

Practically hissing himself, Mu answered. "I'm sure. Now, did you want something?"

"Oh, I just wanted to inform you that _he's_ gotten no worse. But he's still unconscious. Might wanna force-feed him some water if he doesn't wake up soon." The snake mused.

"Alright. Keep watching him. I'll have someone leave dinner for you up here. You'll hear them when they come." Mu turned to walk out the door.

Mal shook his head before slithering back into the closet, covering the floorboards behind him.

Out on the deck, Mu called over one of his men and told him to prepare dinner and to leave it on the desk in his cabin. The otter saluted and ran off to complete the task. Mu smiled tiredly as he realized his plan had been a success: the man had assumed Mu wanted his food delivered. But it was really for Mal. But Mu knew he was really too tired to eat anyway. So Mu searched around for a suitable napping spot.

Deciding the Quarter Deck was the best place for tonight; Mu walked up the stairs and alighted on the bulwark towards the back. Although the moon was shrouded by a few lingering clouds from the earlier storm, it still cast a soothing glow. There was a misty sea breeze and Mu tucked his head comfortably under his wing.

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"I don't trust them." A female voice growled.

"But they've given us no reason to suspect-" Another began.

"That does not matter! These 'political affairs' seem suspicious to say the least. And they even arrived on the morning after Shen was defeated." She replied angrily.

"So what should we do?" A third voice chimed. "We can't exactly put them in prison or something without reason."

Five sets of eyes rested on the form of the angry female. Finally, she responded "We'll investigate and find out what he's up to."

And with that being said, the six figures disappeared into the night, bound for the harbor.

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Although he could be very rowdy, Bolin the sea otter was very loyal to his Captain and crew. He was skilled in the identification of weapons, fighting styles and their use. Although he himself was only skilled in the usage of a spear, but with that one spear he was very good.

He had it strapped to his back now as he delivered the plate of food to his Captain. It was very simple food that the Chinese had given them, as they had run out. It was just a bowl of noodle soup and some bean buns. _But it still smells good_, thought Bolin.

He left it on the desk, as instructed, and closed the door behind him. It was his turn to be on watch. So he readied his spear as he paced across the deck. There were always two men on watch- the other was on the far side of the deck now, and they walked in circles around the ship routinely, in the same direction, so half of the ship would always be guarded.

It was then that Bolin passed the Captain, sound asleep on the Quarter Deck railing. The sea otter walked carefully past, as to not awaken the sleeping peacock. Everyone on the ship knew that waking up the Captain was definitely _not_ a good idea. And besides, Mu pretty much let his entire crew sleep wherever they wanted as long as they weren't 'on the job' or in the way, so the same applied to him. He didn't question the fact that Mu's food would get cold. That was not in Bolin's place to question.

So he continued along the march, taking his job seriously but enjoying the pleasant weather along the way.

_Crash!_

The sea otter's head whipped around as he searched for the source of the sudden noise. Spotting a tipped over barrel near the Fore Mast, Bolin walked over to inspect it.

…_Dried rice? _There were tiny white grains littering the deck. There hadn't been when he'd last walked past.

"Hey! Who's responsible for this?" Bolin thought it likely that another of his shipmates had been snooping around in the barrels, looking for an extra helping of food. He wanted to find them and get them to clean this mess up; He sure wasn't going to.

But the otter immediately abandoned those thoughts as he heard sudden footsteps off to his right and the sound of someone gasping loudly. Now he whipped out his spear threateningly and pointed it at the source of the noise- a stack of crates near the railing. "Who's there?"

Immediately a voice called back; "_Nobody…_" A moment later he heard a smacking sound and an "ow!"

Irritated, Bolin walked up to the crates. "Show yourselves!"

Another moment passed before a large black and white mass rose out of the crates and flew at him. _"PREPARE TO FEEL THE THUNDE-ow!"_

Po had tripped over the crates and sort of fell awkwardly at Bolin. The otter sidestepped and the panda then faceplanted.

"The… Dragon Warrior?" Bolin had seen him on few occasions, but had never spoken directly to him. "What are you doing here?"

"We…. are here… to…" He panted, dazed.

"We? Who's we?" Bolin demanded.

Then the Furious Five stepped out from behind the crates. "Great job, Po." Tigress face palmed. Mantis jumped on his head as he sat up.

"At least your stealth mode is getting better." The insect offered.

"What are you all doing here and why are you sneaking around?" Bolin demanded, pointing his spear at them.

Po looked guilty. "Who's sneaking? We weren't sneaking-"

"Po." Tigress chastised, stopping the panda's excuses. She turned to Bolin. "We came to see Captain Mu."

Bolin's eyes narrowed. "Did you expect to find him behind the crates? Or perhaps in the barrel of rice?"

Mantis jumped forward. "Oh, there's no point in hiding it. We were snooping."

"Mantis!" Viper hissed.

"Oh?" Bolin sneered. "Then leave! We're very busy, and a ship is no place for people like you; You could really get hurt, or hurt someone!"

"But we did want to see Captain Mu!" Viper insisted.

"And we're not idiots." Tigress snarled. "We're masters and we can take care of ourselves!"

"Regardless, you still need to leave. The Captain is busy right now." _Sleeping._ Bolin refused, knowing darn well his captain wouldn't be pleased to be awakened at this hour. He wondered if these idiots had any idea what time of day it was. He kept his spear pointed at them threateningly.

Tigress had had enough. She snarled and kicked the spear out of the surprised sea otter's grasp. The spear flew through the air and thudded into the mast, slicing a rope. The once taut rope suddenly flew slack and the suspended Fore Sail made an awful cracking sound before falling.

Bolin shouted a warning to any bystanders and jumped out of the way. The five and Po avoided the falling sail as well. But the ropes from the fore sail pulled the fore topsail with it. The topsail began ripping.

"Oh… man." Monkey cringed.

But before the topsail could finish ripping, the fore topmast just came off entirely and crashed forcefully against the deck. The entire ship shuddered as more ropes and lines snapped. Bolin snapped into action and tackled the other watchman, who was about to be hit by a falling sail, out of the way.

At the other end of the ship, Mu instantly snapped awake at the sound of the first rope snapping. But it all happened so fast, he was barely able to save himself from being crushed by the falling gaff. He was not, however, fast enough to avoid the boom. It had swung forward just at that moment and knocked Mu clear of the ship, into the ocean. He was far too shocked to even think about opening his wings.

Bolin witnessed this.

"Oh, you really done it now." He said, eyeing the six kung fu masters warily and backing away from them, as if they had the plague. Everything had stopped falling now and the ship's masts and sails lay in various degrees of disarray. Luckily though, the ship itself didn't seem like it'd been damaged.

Just then Mal burst from the door to Mu's cabin. "_What in the name of…" _

He didn't finish. He just stared at the scene; The crushed barrels, the broken topmast and the fallen sails. But he quickly recovered from his shock and swung his head towards the nearest sailor. Unfortunately for the otter, that was Bolin. His large eyes narrowed threateningly. Mal, despite his good nature and sense of humor, could be a very intimidating snake when he wanted to be.

Bolin gulped and very quickly pointed at the six Kung Fu Masters, not at all ashamed to single them out. Mal's gaze instantly shifted from him to them.

"What _the heck_ did you do?" He hissed. "And where's Mu? He's gonna have a fit when he sees this!" Mal could hardly contain himself.

"Oh, _is he_?" A voice growled from the edge of the ship, where the gangplank connected to the docks.

Any sailors on board turned their eyes to the figure with a wide range of emotions. The sight of the ship like this sobered all, but that emotion was tempered by varying degrees of humor or horror at the sad creature that had just stepped onto the deck.

Oh yes. Standing there sopping wet, pieces of seaweed clinging to his feet and his soaked bandana clutched tightly in his wing was Captain Mu. Monkey covered his face with his hands to hide his laughter.

"Now would SOMEONE mind explaining to me just_ WHAT. THE. HELL. HAPPENED?_" Mu's voice rose higher, even though everyone else was pretty much silent.

"Umm…" Bolin spoke up. Mu's red gaze snapped to him. "I-I uh… they did it!" He pointed at the furious five and Po. "I caught them sneaking around the crates and confronted them, y'know! Well, this tiger lady here kicked my spear clean out of my hands! And then… the spear hit the ropes…" The otter confessed all. He was a loyal creature to his crew and them alone.

Mu took a few deep breaths before addressing the masters. _"…Why?"_

Po rubbed his hands together nervously, and then offered. "Well… uh… we were suspicious so we thought we'd… have a look?" Tigress sighed in irritation. Oh, it was so hard to keep a secret in this group…

"You… you thought you'd 'have a look'?" Mu ground, scarcely able to believe what he was hearing. "What makes you think you have the _right_ to come snooping around on my ship and to do… this!" He gestured grandly to encompass the entire mess.

The five stammered before Tigress stepped forward. "We're sorry we caused this mess. But we had every reason to believe-"

"_Believe what?_" Mu snarled at her, taking long and dangerous strides towards her. "That I had some master plan to take China by storm with my crew? Oh yeah, we'd make it _real far!" _Mu went on "And what exactly tipped you off to my plot, huh? Was it my evil laugh or perhaps the evil marks on my sail gave it away?" Mu yelled sarcastically.

Viper gasped in shock- She'd not seen, nor had any of the five or Po, Mu quite this angry.

Tigress' ears flattened. "Well, you'd think maybe it was your attitude." She snarled.

Mu's glare was very dangerous, and his voice was low when he spoke now. "Get off my ship."

Tigress tried to go on. "You have no ri-"

"GET OFF MY SHIP, _now_!" My yelled, and the masters made a hasty exit.

As soon as they were gone, Mu turned toward the crew. "As for the rest of you, clean up this mess. We'll start fixing it tomorrow. Goodnight." And he began walking into his cabin.

Mal started following him. "Sir, I-"

"Not now, Mal. Please just deal with what's going on outside. I'm over it."

"…Okay." The krait replied, slipping back out the door. Mu paused as he looked at the snake's dinner. He hadn't eaten anything yet. Oh well, probably hadn't had time to with the… _disaster._

Mu's beak clenched as he thought about it and he hung his sopping bandana on a nail imbedded in the wall to dry, then changed into a dry set of clothes before descending into the closet.

As he walked down the stairs, Mu thought about forcing Shen some water, as Mal had suggested earlier. _That's right; just distract yourself from what happened… _That peacock was going to die of dehydration if he didn't drink something soon.

So Mu went to a few containers beside his desk; One was a basket that held some scrolls and another was a basin of water. But before he could grab it, Mu suddenly felt an itchy feeling crawl up his spine.

He stopped and when the feeling persisted he glanced and looked up the stairs, to the opening in the floorboards. Mu tilted his head several times but could hear nothing from his cabin above. So… then what?

Surveying the room only made this creepy feeling stronger. Mu could not help feeling like he was being watched. Finally, when his eyes passed over the form of Shen, a pair of red eyes met his gaze.

Mu's own eyes widened. Okay, maybe he wouldn't have to force the water. The red eyes stared at him for a moment longer, almost challenging him.

"So… you're awake." He stated flatly.

The white peacock said nothing. Mu found it unnerving that he was constantly being stared at.

Mu turned abruptly and poured a cup of water from the basin then brought it back towards the makeshift bed. "Can you move on your own?"

This time Mu saw him hesitate before slowly trying to speak, then flinching and shutting his beak tightly. The blue captain got the hint; it was too painful to move.

So he positioned his wing under Shen's head and tilted the cup to his beak. "Drink." Mu ordered. The white peacock hesitated again, but then began to slowly drink the water he was offered. Mu sighed as he set the empty cup down on the desk.

"I'm Captain Mu, by the way." He said as he made his way to go up the stairs and fetch Mal's plate of food. "No need to introduce yourself either, _Lord Shen_."

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Long Chapter is long X_X

But I needed it to explain all the stuff that happened… trust me, there's importance to that little shenanigan that happened with the Five e-e

But I can't help but feel that parts of this chapter were still a little… meh.

Also, I realize that I used some odd words in this chapter such as "gangplank" and "boom." Sadly, those are not nautical terms, but just the proper names for the stuff that broke. I won't be using these terms all the time, but I had to research it. If you had no idea what I was talking about, look here:

.com/images/ship_

Anyway, we'll see more Shen-oriented action in the next chapter, promise. :P

BUT WHAT WILL IT BE?

**R&R!**


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